The Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has welcomed the Illicit Tobacco and E-Cigarette Commissioner’s 2024–25 report, that delivers a frank and comprehensive assessment of Australia’s illicit tobacco and nicotine crime crisis.
AACS CEO Theo Foukkare said the findings expose an illicit market that has become so large and so violent that the Government can no longer ignore the consequences of its failed policy settings.
“I thank the Commissioner for delivering an honest report. Nearly $12 billion in lost excise isn’t just a statistic – it is a national crisis.
The Government must explain how it intends to enforce its way out of a $12 billion mess of its own making,” Mr Foukkare said.
“5,397 tonnes of illicit tobacco entered the Australian market – the equivalent of filling more than 200 semi-trailers or stacking enough loose leaf to cover the MCG several metres deep.
At the same time, government approved, legal tobacco imports have halved, and the report confirms that 97 per cent of the vapes are bought by the black market.
“AACS’s warnings and modelling have been proven right.
We agree with the Commissioner that there is no single lever to fix this crisis.
Cleaning up this deadly mess requires a comprehensive approach – stronger enforcement, consistent long-term powers to shut non-compliant stores, a reduction on excise, and the regulation of government-approved, made-to-code vapes.
The Report also highlights the huge growth of the illicit market is linked to homicides, extortion, arson attacks and fire bombings across Australian communities.
“Families are facing firebombing, extortion and daily threats because illicit tobacco has become one of the most profitable criminal enterprises in the country.
This is what happens when policy forces the legal market into collapse,” Mr Foukkare said.
Mr Foukkare said there is no credible pathway forward, without addressing the price gap that fuels the illicit market.
“You can’t fix this crisis without fixing excise and strictly regulating other nicotine products.
Enforcement alone will not work when illicit tobacco is a fraction of the price of legal product.
“This report should be a turning point.
Retailers cannot withstand another year of this. Communities cannot withstand another year of deadly violence.
Australia needs a reset and excise reform is the critical first step,” Mr Foukkare said.
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